HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's treasury department is accusing about a dozen large financial firms of working together to illegally inflate the price of bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over seven years.

Goldman Sachs raised its probability of a no-deal Brexit to 15% from 10% on Friday as Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation potentially opened the way for a more hardline politician to lead the UK to exiting the European Union. Goldman Sachs economist Adrian Paul said ratification of a Brexit deal would no longer be possible in the second quarter. "We pencil in an orderly EU withdrawal in late 2019 or early 2020, but our conviction is low," he wrote.

If any company can take a cryptocurrency mainstream, it is Facebook. Facebook’s answer, according to several people familiar with its secretive “Libra” project, will be to try to launch a “stablecoin”, a digital currency pegged to the dollar. If successful, the Facebook coin could not only allow payments and transfers within the Facebook empire, but could also be stored on digital wallets and spent in shops, or exchanged into traditional currencies.

The U.S. Department of Justice handed over to Ng's lawyers a "small subset" of more than 1 million documents the government is relying on to prosecute the case, said Assistant United States Attorney Drew Rolle during a hearing at a Brooklyn federal court. The United States accused 46-year-old Ng last year of conspiring to launder money and bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi through bond offerings that Goldman Sachs Group Inc handled. Ng pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 6 and was released in exchange for a $20 million bond.

Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng is unlikely to get a plea deal this week on criminal charges linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at the Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB, both sides told Reuters on Thursday. Plea negotiations are not yet on the agenda, a lawyer for Ng and a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice said. Instead, they plan to only discuss scheduling for case proceedings at a Brooklyn federal court.

Goldman Sachs’s credit traders had positioned themselves through a default-swaps wager that would have benefited if Weatherford managed to avoid near-term death, even if its longer-term prospects remained bleak, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The trade is notable for its sudden collapse and is likely to rank among the duds this quarter for the leveraged-finance trading team led by Tom Malafronte. In this case, the desk was selling short-dated credit swaps contracts, expecting Weatherford to avoid default over the next year while purchasing longer-term derivatives that would still benefit from an eventual collapse for the oilfield services provider.

It was 2016 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decided the time was right to pump money into a Sao Paulo startup looking to reinvent the country’s financial industry, starting with zero-fee credit cards. The venture, now widely known in Brazil as Nubank, for Nu Pagamentos SA, has reached 8.5 million consumers and sold private shares in itself with a $3.6 billion valuation. If it keeps expanding at its current rate, it will soon become the fourth-biggest card issuer in Latin America’s largest economy, and it’s starting to expand abroad.

FT premium subscribers can click here to receive Due Diligence every day by email. Few on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley believe the battle between Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will shake out the same way in one category. The next three banks — Bank of America, Allen & Co and Citigroup — earned less than a third of their bounty, according to data provider Refinitiv.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have a vice-like grip on advising top technology companies. After Uber and Lyft’s weak initial public offerings, rival banks are hoping for some market disruption. “The quality of deal execution is being called into question more, by both corporates and VCs [venture capital firms],” said David Hermer, head of equity capital markets at Credit Suisse, noting that a “small number of banks have a disproportionate share of leadership roles in technology IPO”.

It has also been amended to reflect that shares of Arabian Centres are due to start trading on Wednesday. It will be the biggest initial public offering since the $6bn listing of lender National Commercial Bank in late 2014.

There are a few reasons why Goldman Sachs will not touch Deutsche Bank with a 10- foot pole. First, and foremost, Deutsche Bank does not meet the capital requirement required by US regulators as its leverage ratio is well below the 5 per cent minimum as against 8.5 per cent for Goldman Sachs. This thin sliver of capital is meant to be a backstop for the risk in €1.4tn of total assets, three times Goldman’s exposure.

FT premium subscribers can click here to receive Due Diligence every day by email. One thing to start: DD has teamed up with Murad Ahmed, sports correspondent, to launch the FT Business of Football summit. The inaugural event is today at Claridge’s in London.

Just when investors were starting to feel good about their portfolios in 2019 and getting ready to enjoy the summer months, the tide turned for the markets on May 6. Now, following the rapid declines in the U.S. indices since President Trump's tweets of May 5 regarding the trade war with China, many investors are left wondering whether the decline of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock has created a good entry point.Source: Shutterstock However, I would urge investors to not commit all their intended capital to AAPL stock in May. Here is why it is still too soon to invest in Apple stock. * 7 High-Yield REITs to Buy (Even When the Market Tanks) Trade Wars and Apple StockWith a market cap of $896 million, AAPL stock has the second highest weighting in the S&P 500, after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). And China is Apple's second-most important market.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsTherefore AAPL has now become a proxy for the trade wars between the U.S. and China. In 2018, investors learned that Chinese consumers were starting to turn their backs on AAPL. On Apr. 30, Apple reported second-quarter China sales of $10.2 billion , a year-over-year decline of over 21%.Almost 20% of Apple's revenues come from China. In 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, sales of iPhones in China have declined. And there's a good possibility that China's economy will slow some more.AAPL has already offered massive price discounts in China in March and April. The company may have to make those price decreases permanent to reach its sales targets. However, retaining those discounts would decrease AAPL's margins and its long-term pricing power, also creating a headwind for Apple stock. Going forward, I do not think we can expect the competitive landscape for the iPhone to improve in China.Furthermore, AAPL relies on Chinese suppliers and its mobile devices are assembled in China. Thus, Apple would have to react to tariffs either by increasing prices in the U.S. or absorbing the cost of the tariffs. The latter action would definitely have a major negative impact on Apple stock price.It is no wonder that, since early 2018, but especially over the past few weeks, the trade dispute has negatively affected the price of Apple stock. The further the signing of the trade deal gets pushed out, the greater the adverse effect on Apple's future earnings and AAPL stock could be. Currency Headwinds and Apple StockI am also somewhat concerned about potential currency fluctuations in the coming weeks. The company's SEC filing clearly identifies the potential negative impact of foreign currency movements on AAPL's earnings. Almost half of Apple's sales come from Pacific Rim countries or Europe, the Middle East and Africa.During 2018, the weakening of foreign currencies, due to rate hikes by the Fed as well as the overall strength of the U.S. dollar, has translated into lower earnings for Apple. While the equity markets seemed to focus on China in May, it's important to keep an eye on the rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, too.If the Chinese yuan falls further or if investors prefer the safety of the greenback during the escalating rhetoric with Iran, then Apple stock may take another hit. It is worth remembering that Apple pays its Chinese suppliers in U.S. dollars to assemble its products. However, its iPhones are sold to Chinese consumers in yuans. In other words, the dollar's next move could impact Apple's upcoming results, pushing its earnings towards the lower end of the guidance range.If AAPL's sales, margins, and revenue all decline in China amidst increased competition from local companies, including Huawei, and currency headwinds, then the multiple of Apple stock will drop.In May or June, Apple may issue disappointing guidance for the current quarter, causing many investors to hit the sell button first and ask questions later. Has the Good News Been Priced Into AAPL Stock?Even before the concerns over the trade war reignited in early May, much of the positive news on Apple had already been priced into Apple stock.During its event on Mar. 25, AAPL announced new video, news, gaming subscription services, and a credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). However, despite these potential sources of new revenue, following the event, Apple stock initially declined.Then on Apr. 30, the tech giant posted quarterly revenue of $58 billion, a decline of 5% from the year-ago quarter. Unit sales of iPhones also fell again. Since iPhone revenue accounts for over half of Apple's total revenue, investors pay close attention to iPhone numbers.Yet during the quarter, AAPL exceeded Wall Street's average revenue and earnings estimates, mostly thanks to the strong numbers from Apple Services. The owners of Apple stock who remain committed to AAPL realize the importance of its Services business, which includes the App Store, Apple Pay, iTunes, AppleCare and Apple Music, to the company's bottom line in the near-term and the longer term.Following the earnings report, Apple stock initially rallied on May 1, hitting an intraday high of $215.31. Since then, it has fallen over 12%.Investors would like to see AAPL clearly identify what the company's next growth catalyst will be. In other words, Wall Street would like Apple to find its next big niche. Short-Term Technical Analysis of Apple StockAlthough I firmly believe that Apple stock will perform well in the long-term, on a short-term basis, I expect AAPL stock to be choppy. Over the short-term, investor sentiment and price momentum affect the stock price of a company as closely watched as Apple stock is.AAPL stock is down nearly 3% over the past 12 months. Right now the technical outlook of Apple stock is rather bearish. The stock price has been making lower highs in the past two weeks. Unless a Chinese trade deal is reached soon, this trend will not change or improve quickly.I believe that Apple stock is likely to reach a 6-month low in late May or early June. If the markets continue to decline, AAPL stock could easily drop to the low $170's or even the high $150's .However, if there is a quick resolution to the trade issues, then AAPL stock will likely rapidly gain 5%-8%. I expect resistance first at $192.5 and then at $200. So Should Investors Buy AAPL Stock?If you believe in the bull case for AAPL stock, and if you do not currently hold any shares, you might consider waiting for a better time to go long, such as $180 or even lower.Year-to-date, AAPL stock is up 16%. Not all investors are comfortable with its increased volatility levels. If you are a shareholder who has been able to ride the impressive rally since early January, then you may want to take some of your profits in Apple stock.Stocks tend to behave differently in a falling market than they do in a rising one. The down moves can be rather fast in a declining market, and a momentum stock like AAPL may become a falling knife. I personally do not like catching falling knives. Therefore, you may consider placing a stop loss at 3%-5% below the current price of Apple stock, to protect your profits to date.If you are an experienced investor in the options market, you may also consider protecting your portfolio with a covered call. For example, for every 100 shares of AAPL you own around $190, you could sell an AAPL June 21 $190 call option. This approach offers downside protection in case of volatility and a decline of AAPL stock. It also enables investors to participate in a potential rally between now and the expiry of the option. The Bottom Line on AAPL StockOver the long haul, robust fundamental numbers are what make a company worth investing in. The longer term outlook of Apple stock is strong, and the company has a clean balance sheet; therefore it remains a long-term play on growth. However, now that earnings season is behind us, the daily performance of Apple stock will depend on macroeconomic news as well as on the action of big day traders until the company reports its results in July. Thus, I do not expect Apple stock to go back over $200 in May, unless a satisfactory trade deal is announced.As of this writing, Tezcan Gecgil did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * 7 High-Yield REITs to Buy (Even When the Market Tanks) * 5 Great Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy Today * 7 Tech Stocks to Buy That Are Also Perfect for Retirement Compare Brokers The post Why Apple Stock Could Fall Below $160 appeared first on InvestorPlace.

This market's gotten real simple, real fast. We've got a new rubric to judge stocks. Too much Chinese exposure and you're toast. But if you've got little or no Chinese exposure, your stock can rally, even on a not-so-hot day like this one.